Wenger Downplays Real Madrid Link

After another trophy-less season, the natives are getting restless at Arsenal. That said, it seems the Gunners will still have longtime manager Arsene Wenger calling the shots as the Frenchman dismissed a rumored move to Real Madrid on Wednesday.

Wenger caught some heat at the latest shareholders meeting and the rumor-mongering Spanish media apparently attempted to create a link between the coach and the Madrid superclub, especially if Florentino Perez -- the architect of the Galaticos era is re-elected as Real president.

The bigger issue developing around Arsenal is if Wenger's policy and reliance on young players will ever yield trophies. Most Gunners' fans consider the North London club one of the biggest in the world and wonder why they can't shell out on big-name players like their Premier League rivals. Wenger stated earlier this week it's not that simple for the club since it has incurred debts in the construction of the Emirates Stadium.

Wenger's cultivation of young players has yielded some sublime soccer lately and this young team -- without January acquisition Andrei Arshavin -- did reach the semifinals of the Champions League. Still, Arsenal hasn't won anything of significance since the 2004-05 FA Cup, which must chafe at Gunners fans as Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool continue to add to their trophy cases.

On the bright side for Arsenal, after a slow start in the Premier League, the Gunners did go over 20 games without a loss, until a setback to Chelsea earlier this month. Yet even with that run, Arsenal (69 points) is still closer in the table to fifth place Everton (60 ) than third-place Chelsea (80). Also, a fourth-place finish in the Premier League yields a tougher road to Champions League group stage qualification this time around.

The most pressing concern for Wenger and Arsenal at the moment is what to do with Emmanuel Adebayor -- who's come under criticism from the fans and has been linked to clubs all over Europe. While the Togolese international can score in bunches, Arsenal would be better served investing some money in a central defender with Fulham's Norwegian giant Brede Hangeland at the top of the shopping list.

Aside from that, a full season of Arshavin and healthy seasons from Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky and Arsenal does have a formidible squad that should challenge across all competitions.

After today it's pretty certain Wenger will be back on the Emirates touchline by the start of next season. But it's pretty certain we'll be re-reading these same stories come May 2010 should Arsenal's trophy case remain dormant.